In a world with an intellectual history of seven thousand years behind it, where do Pakistanis stand, what are they doing, what do they aspire to be, and what ought they to be doing? This Blog takes Notes of all of that ...

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

A State that took over society

You
can bring the rich to the level of the poor overnight but it takes a lifetime
to lift the poor to the level of the rich. [Irish proverb]

During
the 1970s, Pakistan went in for wholesale nationalization of its private
enterprises, taking even educational institutions into the state’s hands. This
was a move laden with far-reaching and unforeseeable consequences. Some are
still being unveiled today. It changed not only the economic and political, but
also the social, intellectual and moral landscape of the country for
generations to come.

The
story began in 1968, with a political movement basing itself purely on
totalitarian economic agenda. Its slogans were reminiscent of an ancient
collective tribal life where everything belonged to everyone. Two of these
were: ‘socialism is our economy’ and ‘all power to the people’. The movement
was built on the myth of 22 wealthy families: it was argued that the sole cause
of poverty of the people of Pakistan was the concentration of wealth in the
hands of a few big industrialists. This myth was exploited fully to gain the
political benefit.

Thus,
under the Nationalization Order of 1972, a number of industries such as iron
and steel, basic metals, heavy engineering, heavy electrical, assembling and
manufacturing of motor vehicles and tractors, heavy and basic chemicals,
petrochemicals, cement, public utilities, power generation, transmission and
distribution, and gas and oil refineries were nationalized. The Order
ostracized the private sector from economic areas of ‘crucial importance’. In
1972 all private educational institutions, including schools, were shifted to
the public sector. The second Order in 1974 led to the nationalization of
banks, life insurance, shipping and marketing of petroleum products. In 1976,
2,815 cotton ginning, rice husking and flour milling units were taken over. It
‘created an administrative nightmare and widespread resentment,’ as an analyst
said.

More
important were the revolutionary changes in the wake of nationalization. The
damage was more than economic: mutual trust and regard for personal freedom and
property disappeared. It was just like a powerful windstorm uprooting everything
coming in its way. There was simultaneous nationalization of social and moral
values of Pakistani society. Thus, out of the dust of this storm emerged a new
ethic that ultimately proved inimical to basic principles of human
civilization. In time, these values pervaded the thinking and practices of
people at all levels of society.

The
foremost value was: ‘all wealth is evil’. Some of the other values let us sense
the gravity of the crisis: that wealth can only be earned by evil means; or, it
is created only through evil means; that one who has wealth has got it through
evil means; that the wealth one has, was stolen from someone else; that wealth
is not a private property; that it is to be owned only collectively; and last
but not least, that earning it in any manner is perfectly justified.

These
values reflect only the tip of the iceberg. The crisis was so deep and
pervasive that it engulfed and destroyed all profit-incentive, work-incentive,
work ethics and business ethics. The very concept of property rights and
justice was dismantled, resulting in an unprecedented jungle-like anarchy where
everything belonged to everyone, and ultimately came to belong to none but the
mightiest.

Naturally,
the nationalized entities were mercilessly plundered, over-employed and finally
collapsed. This gave rise to a kleptocratic institution of government and a
kleptocratic society as well. One of Pakistan’s greatest entrepreneurs, G.M.
Adamjee, pondered, "In a society neck-deep in corruption, I more often
than not find myself a misfit. There is no place for a veteran
businessman."

Under
the circumstance, the state acquired the role of an instrument of making and
redistributing money, and it was the influential elite that used it most, made
money and redistributed money the most. This elitist system benefited only a
few--and those who were networked. All politics of the elitist state found an
exclusive focus ready to be exploited for amassing wealth, and cultivated a
general consensus that the state must provide for all of the citizens according
to their wishes, no matter what their social and economic status is. This
induced an unrelenting scramble for power and money.

Poverty
was now to be considered a disadvantage for individuals, caused by the larger
earnings of the rich. It meant that the poor were poor because the rich were
rich. This was a situation of mistaken targeting: it was not the rich
industrialists or capitalists who were responsible for the poverty or low
standard of living for people at large as was understood generally. The people
who were at the helm of the affairs--regardless of whether they were
industrialists or landlords, bureaucrats or politicians or others--grabbed
political power and resources, and exploited the rest.

All
this prevented Pakistan from moving towards and forward on the path to
development and prosperity for all.

When
the economy had reached a state where it was in a shambles, the winds changed
direction. It was during the 1990s that Pakistan started treading on the path
to de-nationalization, privatization, and then moved ahead with de-regulation
and liberalization with a hope to redress the damage done till date. But of
course, it will take time for confidence and mutual trust to be restored among
the people, and between the people and the state. Moreover, the damage done to
the social and moral fabric of society will take a much longer time to heal.
The society of Pakistan is still in a state of valuelessness and lawlessness!

The Blogger

The blogger cherishes a cosmopolitan spirit; he is a moralist; a rationalist; a philosopher; a political philosopher; he believes in Classical Liberalism, as a Theory of Conduct.
He has substantially contributed to the founding of the first free market think tank of Pakistan, Alternate Solutions Institute.
He is a writer who wrote / published dozens of articles on a variety of issues, and is author of 4 books.
He wrote / published short-stories in Punjabi, a regional language of Pakistan.
He composes poetry both in Urdu and Punjabi, and has already published one collection.